by Antony J. Blinken, the United States Secretary of State, He said Monday that Saudi Arabia’s leader told him that establishing diplomatic recognition between the kingdom and Israel was still possible, but that it required an end to the war in Gaza and practical steps toward a Palestinian state.
“There is a clear interest here in achieving that,” Blinken said after meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader. “There is a clear interest in the region in achieving this.”
Blinken’s comments were the strongest public statement yet that normalizing ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel – a move that could establish a political realignment of Middle East powers and secure US assistance for a program Saudi civil nuclear) remained a possibility since October. .7 attacks led by Hamas, which triggered the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip.
Blinken also said that Prince Mohammed and other leaders he had met in the region said they were willing to coordinate and work together “to help Gaza stabilize and recover, to chart a political path forward for the Palestinians.” and work towards the long term.” long-term peace, security and stability in the region as a whole.”
All leaders, he added, were willing to “make the necessary commitments.”
Blinken and other advisers to President Biden are trying to revive discussions about normalizing relations with Israel, hoping that such a step could prompt Israelis to agree to work to establish a Palestinian state.
But the high death toll in Gaza, where health officials say more than 22,000 people have been killed in Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks, has inflamed anti-Israel sentiments in Saudi Arabia and other nations in the region. That will make it more difficult for Prince Mohammed to navigate the path toward normalizing relations between Riyadh and Jerusalem, should he decide to try.
Furthermore, some senior Israeli officials oppose the notion of a Palestinian state or greater rights for Palestinians, and many Israeli citizens agree with them, given the horror of the October attacks.
Blinken met with Prince Mohammed for about 90 minutes at the prince’s luxurious winter camp in the remote oasis of Al Ula in the kingdom’s western desert. After speaking to journalists traveling with him on the tarmac at Al Ula airport, Blinken boarded his plane to fly to Tel Aviv, where he plans to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials on Tuesday.
Before landing in Saudi Arabia, Blinken met in Abu Dhabi with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ruler of the United Arab Emirates, to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to prevent the war between Israel and Gaza from spreading. . the region, a State Department spokesperson said.
Blinken emphasized the United States’ “continued commitment to ensuring a lasting regional peace that ensures Israel’s security and advances the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
The Biden administration has insisted that Israel help forge a realistic path toward a Palestinian state, arguing that Israel’s years-long security policy toward the Palestinians appears to have failed, as evidenced by the scale of the October 7 attacks. Establishing a Palestinian state is a long-standing U.S. policy goal, but efforts to achieve it have slowed since the Obama administration.
Blinken and Sheikh Mohammed also discussed the civil war in Sudan and “avoiding further widespread civilian harm” there, Miller said.
The New York Times reported in September that the Emirates had been sending weapons to the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces that is fighting the regular army in Sudan, bringing the weapons into the country through a remote military air base across the border. with Chad. Blinken said in December that the two warring armies and associated militias in Sudan were committing war crimes.
The Emirates are one of the largest buyers of American weapons and are considered a security partner by the US government, but the country and the Biden administration are at odds over several major security issues, including the Emirates’ role in the Sudan war. and its efforts to forge important military and economic partnerships with China.
Shortly after landing in Saudi Arabia on Monday afternoon, Blinken met briefly in the Al Ula airport lounge with Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, to “discuss efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading and ensure lasting peace for the region. Mr Miller said. Borrell was leaving Al Ula after meeting Prince Mohammed.
Blinken landed in Turkey on Friday to begin a week-long trip to the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.
